“the First Lady of Song,” Ella Fitzgerald’s genius as a singer was a fixture of American jazz and popular music for over fifty years. Her iconic renditions of “How High the Moon,” “Mr. Paganini,” and “Mack the Knife,” display an artist who exemplifies spontaneity, joy, and human connection.

Brian Thomas and Alex Lee-Clark are honored to play with vocalist Dawning Holmes, and their mentor, Grammy-Award winner Jeff Holmes, who’ll direct an evening celebrating Ella and that same spirit of spontaneity and joy. The band will also feature Beehive and Beat Brasserie regulars Jared Sims (woodwinds), David Picchi (bass) and Ted Sullivan (drums).

The Paul Winter Consort is an American musical group, led by soprano saxophonist Paul Winter, one of the pioneers of world music. Founded in 1967, the group mixes elements of jazz, classical music, world music and the sounds of animals and nature. Welcome Spring with their program “In Celebration of the Earth.”

Jeff Holmes Big Band April 24th, 2016

Canton High School 76 Simonds Ave, Canton, CT, 06019, United States Get Directions

Jeff Holmes with Paul Winter Consort Summer Solstice Celebration

Cathedral of St. John the Divine, NYC

On Saturday morning, June 18th, at 4:30am, the Consort and I will be presenting our 21st annual Summer Solstice Celebration at New York’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine [ buy tickets ]. The players will be Eugene Friesen, cello; Paul McCandless, English horn and oboe; Jeff Holmes, piano; Ray Nagem, pipe organ; myself on soprano sax; and multiple percussionists.

This event is our musical welcome to the summer. Summer Solstice is one of the great turning points of the year, when the sun is at its peak and the days abound with the promise of life’s fullness. My dream, with this sunrise celebration, is to offer an experience of this resonance, in the mystical ambience of these early morning hours, through a deep listening journey within the awesome space of this largest cathedral in the world. Our music begins in total darkness, and proceeds in a continuous flow, emanating from different places in the Cathedral. Gradually, as the great stained glass windows begin to illuminate, the light joins the sound to carry us into the first dawning of the summer.